Linear Air Forms Eclipse 500 Support Co-op

With VLJ manufacturer Eclipse Aviation facing Chapter 7 liquidation proceedings, an organization is needed to provide support to owners of the 259 Eclipse 500 jets in the field. Bill Herp, CEO of charter operator Linear Air, which has four Eclipse 500s in its fleet, yesterday launched Eclipse Services and Support, a co-operative organization made up of Eclipse owners that plans to buy assets from the liquidation sale to help keep Eclipse 500s in service. If the co-operative can purchase the right assets from Eclipse, such as the type certificate and other intellectual property, it could help owners obtain parts and upgrades at reasonable prices. The co-op would be structured so that Eclipse-owner members would obtain support for their jets at the cost of operating the co-op, thus keeping prices down. “I think the fact that it is structured as a co-operative gives it the potential to most efficiently offer to the customer base the most cost-effective way to get their aircraft upgraded,” Herp said. “The notion of creating a co-operative funded by owners seems to resonate,” he said.